Page 70 of Hogging the Hunk
Sighing happily, her hands found their new favorite spot behind my neck, and another delicious tremble meandered through my body. Judging by her smile, she knew exactly what she was doing to me.
“Where were we?” she asked airily.
With a passionate kiss where she swooned into me, I gave her a hint. “Before we were interrupted, I was attempting to demonstrate how ardently I love and adore you. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to finish what we started.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Beckett
“Is there anything better than a picnic in spring?” Flopping back onto the grass so I could watch the fluffy white clouds drift by, I rested my hands behind my head. “If there is, then it’s not coming to mind.”
Milo tipped his head side to side, his lips scrunched up as he considered. “I can think of a couple of things.”
He slowly raised his eyebrows, giving me a minute to catch up to his line of thinking.
Kissing. He was thinking about kissing.
“Oh.” My face burned and had to be an unflattering shade of scarlet. Thankfully, Ellie was too focused on arranging the cheese slices to notice my blush. I sat up and crawled onto Milo’s back as he lounged on the blanket. I whispered in his ear, “I was talking about group activities.”
“Well, you should have specified.”
He rubbed his stubble-covered chin into my neck and I squealed, rolling away and falling into a heap next to him. Milo leaned over me, attacking me with kisses in all my ticklish spots while I begged for mercy.
“If you two don’t stop, I’m going to report you for indecent behavior,” Ellie said with a straight face. “This is a family friendly town. We ought to keep it that way, for the sake of the children.”
“Where do you think all those children came from?” Milo quipped. “I thought you already had the facts of life talk at school. Do you need me or Beckett to review it with you?”
“Eww!” Ellie screamed and covered her ears. “Can we just forget I said anything?”
Milo’s whole body shook as he laughed, and I toed him with my sandal. “Don’t tease her like that. She’ll be traumatized.”
Truffle, who’d been oinking around the park, always on the lookout for food, trotted to me and stuck her snout in my face, not wanting to be left out of the fun. Her bristles tickled and she smeared slimy dirt on my cheek before she reached the end of her leash.
“Truffle! No!” I rolled away and sat up. To keep her occupied, I tossed a trio of orange cherry tomatoes for her to chase. “I have pig boogers on my face. Please tell me you packed paper towels.”
I reached for the picnic basket, finding three rolls of linen napkins neatly tucked inside. About to grab one, Ellie shrieked and took back the basket like I was Rumpelstiltskin reaching into a baby’s bassinet.
“Um, can I have a napkin, please? Or are you going to take a photo of me with pig snot on my cheek to blackmail me with later?”
“That would be a good idea, but no.” Ellie had a faraway look in her eye as she grinned, like she was imagining it. “I’ve just made very specific arrangements for this picnic.”
I looked at Milo. He was too busy rolling more veggies to Truffle.
Meticulously setting out each vintage plate, decoratively painted with eucalyptus leaves, Ellie took out the matching napkin rolls, first in front of Milo, then her, and me last, Ellie fussed until she was satisfied.
Nodding, she grinned. “There we go. That one’s yours.”
“Wow.” I chuckled, scooting my plate closer. “You’re super into this picnic. First, you come up with the idea, then you take care of all the food, and now you’re handing out fancy place settings like we’re at high tea with the King and Queen. Did you even monogram the napkins?”
Rolling off the napkin ring, I unfolded the cloth when something fell out and a clink resonated from off my plate. Figuring a rock had gotten into my napkin, I was shocked to see a diamond ring glistening in the center of my plate.
It was a rock alright. Just not the kind I’d assumed.
I picked it up, and there was a temporary paralyzation of my vocal cords. I stammered the only thought I could form into words. “What is this?”
“It’s an engagement ring,” Ellie said, bouncing in her spot as she clapped the tips of her fingers.
“Who’s it for?” A passerby might have questioned if I’d somehow cheated my way through med school with the elemental logic I was using to formulate questions. Sherlock Holmes’ dog could have solved this mystery.